International E-Journal of Advances in Social Sciences

Öz

Losing both parents due to divorce or death is a traumatic incident that
produces a source of stress in life. This will be bad for the person’s life
since it might create a sense of loneliness, a grave need for affection, and
financial problems. Individuals need an ability to overcome problems called
resilience. Resilience is a capacity to respond soundly and productively when
facing misery or traumatic events. Subjects in this study experienced trauma
from parental divorce and death of both parents. When both parents were still
alive, the subject never received attention from his father since he had
remarried while his mother was forced to work abroad to fulfill their financial
needs. The subject was raised by his grandparents with a strong upbringing pattern
and lacked the support for achievement. However, the subject managed to grow to
be an independent adult and survive the difficult conditions suffered while
still managed to be whatever he wants without harming others. The purpose of
this study is to investigate the resilience dynamics of a child experiencing
parental divorce and death. This research uses phenomenology approach. Subject
in this study consisted of one person based on typical case sampling. The
typical cases discussed here are divorce and death of both parents. Data is
collected using semi-structured interview method and then analysed using
thematic analysis.

The result of this study indicates that the subject has developed
resilience from adverse events happened to him. The greatest effects
experienced by the subject from this traumatic event are the low level of
family support, the sense of loneliness, problems with the authoritarian style
of rearing he endured while living with the parent's family after parental
divorce until both parents died that make it difficult for him to trust others,
as well as low self-esteem. But these adverse effects had not made him
desperate with his life. The subject's involvement in social activities has
succeeded in changing his view toward life more positively and making the
subject self-sufficient individual. Factors such as hardiness, locus of control
and spirituality are found in the subject and contribute to the subject's
ability to survive even without the full support of the family. In essence, the
involvement of subjects in social activities is the greatest source and
influence from where the subject rebuilt his view of life, to rise above the
problem and become a more positive individual.